For the next big breakthroughs, scientists are thinking small – really small. Nanotechnology offers enormous new opportunities for innovation in materials science, electronics, medicine and more. Computational resources are critical to advancing this burgeoning field. At the University of Texas at Austin, researchers are applying nanotechnology to develop new uses for molybdenum disulphide, a compound used as a lubricant and in petroleum refining. This image is a close-up view of multilayered molybdenum disulphide stacked in a diamond anvil cell. Running electric leads through the structure, researchers can trigger electronic transitions and manipulate the mechanical, electrical and optical properties of this innovative layered nanomaterial.
The image has been rendered with the perspective of one of the atoms inside the environment. The complex structure of the stacked assembly is visible in the highly reflective surface of the molecules.
Jo Wozniak
Avinash P. Nayak Jie Zhu Jin Liu Xiang Wu Deji Akinwande Jung-Fu Lin
Swastibrata Bhattacharyya Tribhuwan Pandey Abhishek K. Singh
Changqing Jin